1) PayPal is not a (rogue) private debt collector; they are a financial institution.
2) This took place in the UK. (She owed £3,200).
3) The notice was sent to her, not her family.
4) It seems like she had a credit card with PayPal that had a balance on it (reference to "PayPal Credit"). Doesn't payment to creditors come out of the estate? So it seems PayPal might be legitimately owed if the estate has money. Thus there were no social engineering tactics